Punisher Class
The last ship developed before the Terran Civil War, the Punisher class was the most powerful human built ship to see mass production. A record it has held until the rollout of the Antares Class centuries later. Boasting a powerful mix of phase cannon arrays and heavy torpedo launchers, the Punisher can threaten any ship of equivilent tonnage while staying more mobile. Docking points allow it to mount additional torpedo modules above or below the drive section. These also allow it to be equipped with Veckron Torpedo launchers, though the class rarely carries them. Frigate class docking bays allow it to carry up to 8 HLV's, providing additional protection to planetary assault troops before their drop. While an excellent ship production numbers have been far less than they could have been. The loss of their shipyards during the Second Faction War meant that they were out of production for many years. After the Faction wars the capture or salvage of many Kavarian built super heavy cruisers meant that resources were diverted to upgrading these vessels instead of bulking up the heavy cruiser forces. Despite this the Punisher has seen continued production, albeit at a greatly reduced rate in peacetime. Notable Ships of the line TAS Punisher The lead ship of the class, Punisher served as the flagship of the newly organised Terran Federal Fleet during their civil war. Leading the best equipped and highest trained units availabe, she saw extensive fighting and on two occasions nearly crippled the Confederacy flagship. Unlike many Federal units at the outset of the civil war Punisher was escorted at all times by 2 wings of Dominion Attack Corvettes. While this was at the request of the Government, opposition leaders claimed that this was a sign that House Kharbos was supplanting the Terran fleet. Admiral ________ contined to command Punisher through the civil war and rebuffed several offers to change sides. When government leadership fled the capital into Dominion space in 3575, _________ assumed command of the military and called for a cease fire. Punisher and the remaining core fleet assets were used as a bargaining chip. The Federal fleet would surrender in return for amnesty for those who had not deserted or fled to the Dominion. Punisher was handed over to the Terran Alliance of Confederated Systems and Admiral _______ soon retired. TCS Punisher Through the heaviest fighting of the Faction Wars the Punisher famously served as flagship of Admiral Cole Weston(?-check archive) in his campaigns against the Kavarian Union in what is now South Reach. After the Faction Wars Punisher saw service on a number of fronts but was mainly relagated to hunting down Kavarian Union remnant forces or supporting reconstruction efforts. -Terran Blockade of Dominion space during major inter-house flare up -Refit for Neeran war TCS Warspite One of the most powerful examples of the Punisher class ever built, the Warspite carried a prototype Veckron torpedo launcher. The rest of her heavy torpedo launchers were upgraded to fire animatter torpedoes. If it was proven successful there were plans to add matter/antimatter reactors and sublight drives. In its first Veckron torpedo launch test the ship exploded and was lost with all hands. Fortunately it was only carrying a skeleton crew but thousands were still killed. The investigation into the explosion eventually discovered that Veckron weaponry destabilised antimatter containment systems. This had a profound impact on starship and weapons design in the following years. Category:Ships Category:Starships Category:Terran Alliance Category:Heavy Cruisers